Connection-based or communication-based services and determinations

ABSTRACT

Computer program products, methods, systems, apparatus, and computing entities are provided. In one embodiment, computing entities can establish direct communications with one another using a variety of protocols and standards. Such direction communications can be monitored or attempted to be established to determine whether an item is allowed or disallowed for delivery.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application, is a continuation U.S. application Ser. No.17/120,751, Filed on Dec. 14, 2020 which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/933,311, filed on Nov. 5, 2015, and entitled,“Connection-Based or Communication-Based Services and Determinations,”the entirety each of which is hereby expressly incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

With an ever-increasing need for mobility and flexibility in itempick-up and item delivery contexts, new techniques and approaches areneeded to make such pick-ups and deliveries as efficient as possible.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present invention provide methods,apparatus, systems, computing devices, computing entities, and/or thelike for connection-based services and determinations.

In accordance with one aspect, a method is provided. In one embodiment,the method comprises (1) determining whether to allow delivery of anitem based at least in part on a first computing entity and a secondcomputing entity being in direct communication with each other; and (2)responsive to determining to allow delivery of the item based at leastin part on the first computing entity and the second computing entitybeing in direct communication with each other, providing a notificationfor display indicating that the item is allowed to be delivered.

In accordance with another aspect, a computer program product isprovided. The computer program product may comprise at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program codeportions comprising executable portions configured to (1) determinewhether to allow delivery of an item based at least in part on a firstcomputing entity and a second computing entity being in directcommunication with each other; and (2) responsive to determining toallow delivery of the item based at least in part on the first computingentity and the second computing entity being in direct communicationwith each other, provide a notification for display indicating that theitem is allowed to be delivered.

In accordance with yet another aspect, an apparatus comprising at leastone processor and at least one memory including computer program code isprovided. In one embodiment, the at least one memory and the computerprogram code may be configured to, with the processor, cause theapparatus to (1) determine whether to allow delivery of an item based atleast in part on a first computing entity and a second computing entitybeing in direct communication with each other; and (2) responsive todetermining to allow delivery of the item based at least in part on thefirst computing entity and the second computing entity being in directcommunication with each other, provide a notification for displayindicating that the item is allowed to be delivered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system that can be used to practice variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an information/data collection device that may beused in association with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a carrier computing system in accordance withcertain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic of a customer computing entity in accordance withcertain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating operations and processes that can beused in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 6-8 are exemplary input and output produced in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present invention now will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, theseinventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. The term “or” is used herein in both the alternativeand conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. The terms“illustrative” and “exemplary” are used to be examples with noindication of quality level. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

I. Computer Program Products, Methods, and Computing Entities

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various ways,including as computer program products that comprise articles ofmanufacture. A computer program product may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing applications, programs, programmodules, scripts, source code, program code, object code, byte code,compiled code, interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions,and/or the like (also referred to herein as executable instructions,instructions for execution, computer program products, program code,and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably). Such non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media include all computer-readable media(including volatile and non-volatile media).

In one embodiment, a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium mayinclude a floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, solid-state storage(SSS) (e.g., a solid state drive (SSD), solid state card (SSC), solidstate module (SSM), enterprise flash drive, magnetic tape, or any othernon-transitory magnetic medium, and/or the like. A non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium may also include a punch card, papertape, optical mark sheet (or any other physical medium with patterns ofholes or other optically recognizable indicia), compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), compact disc-rewritable (CD-RW), digital versatile disc(DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), any other non-transitory optical medium,and/or the like. Such a non-volatile computer-readable storage mediummay also include read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory(PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory (e.g.,Serial, NAND, NOR, and/or the like), multimedia memory cards (MMC),secure digital (SD) memory cards, SmartMedia cards, CompactFlash (CF)cards, Memory Sticks, and/or the like. Further, a non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium may also include conductive-bridgingrandom access memory (CBRAM), phase-change random access memory (PRAM),ferroelectric random-access memory (FeRAM), non-volatile random-accessmemory (NVRAM), magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), resistiverandom-access memory (RRAM), Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon memory(SONOS), floating junction gate random access memory (FJG RAM),Millipede memory, racetrack memory, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, a volatile computer-readable storage medium mayinclude random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM),static random access memory (SRAM), fast page mode dynamic random accessmemory (FPM DRAM), extended data-out dynamic random access memory (EDODRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double datarate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), double datarate type two synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR2 SDRAM),double data rate type three synchronous dynamic random access memory(DDR3 SDRAM), Rambus dynamic random access memory (RDRAM), TwinTransistor RAM (TTRAM), Thyristor RAM (T-RAM), Zero-capacitor (Z-RAM),Rambus in-line memory module (RIMM), dual in-line memory module (DIMM),single in-line memory module (SIMM), video random access memory (VRAM),cache memory (including various levels), flash memory, register memory,and/or the like. It will be appreciated that where embodiments aredescribed to use a computer-readable storage medium, other types ofcomputer-readable storage media may be substituted for or used inaddition to the computer-readable storage media described above.

As should be appreciated, various embodiments of the present inventionmay also be implemented as methods, apparatus, systems, computingdevices, computing entities, and/or the like. As such, embodiments ofthe present invention may take the form of an apparatus, system,computing device, computing entity, and/or the like executinginstructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to performcertain steps or operations. Thus, embodiments of the present inventionmay also take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirelycomputer program product embodiment, and/or an embodiment that comprisesa combination of computer program products and hardware performingcertain steps or operations.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with referenceto block diagrams and flowchart illustrations. Thus, it should beunderstood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations may be implemented in the form of a computer programproduct, an entirely hardware embodiment, a combination of hardware andcomputer program products, and/or apparatus, systems, computing devices,computing entities, and/or the like carrying out instructions,operations, steps, and similar words used interchangeably (e.g., theexecutable instructions, instructions for execution, program code,and/or the like) on a computer-readable storage medium for execution.For example, retrieval, loading, and execution of code may be performedsequentially such that one instruction is retrieved, loaded, andexecuted at a time. In some exemplary embodiments, retrieval, loading,and/or execution may be performed in parallel such that multipleinstructions are retrieved, loaded, and/or executed together. Thus, suchembodiments can produce specifically-configured machines performing thesteps or operations specified in the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations. Accordingly, the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support various combinations of embodiments for performingthe specified instructions, operations, or steps.

II. Exemplary System Architecture

FIG. 1 provides an illustration of a system that can be used inconjunction with various embodiments of the present invention. As shownin FIG. 1, the system may include one or more vehicles 100, one or moreitems 103, one or more carrier computing systems 105, one or morecustomer computing entities 110, one or more carrier personnel computingentities 115, one or more Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites117, one or more location sensors 120, one or more telematics sensors125, one or more information/data collection devices 130, one or morenetworks 135, and/or the like. Each of the components of the system maybe in electronic communication with, for example, one another over thesame or different wireless or wired networks including, for example, awired or wireless Personal Area Network (PAN), Local Area Network (LAN),Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), and/or thelike. Additionally, while FIG. 1 illustrates certain system entities asseparate, standalone entities, the various embodiments are not limitedto this particular architecture.

1. Exemplary Vehicle

In various embodiments, the term vehicle 100 is used generically. In oneembodiment, a vehicle may be a carrier vehicle, such as a manned or anunmanned tractor, a truck, a car, a motorcycle, a moped, a Segway, abicycle, a golf cart, a hand truck, a cart, a trailer, a tractor andtrailer combination, a van, a flatbed truck, a vehicle, a drone, anaerial vehicle, an airplane, a helicopter, a barge, a boat, and/or anyother form of object for moving or transporting people and/or items(e.g., one or more packages, parcels, bags, containers, loads, crates,items banded together, vehicle parts, pallets, drums, the like, and/orsimilar words used herein interchangeably). Further, a vehicle may be acustomer vehicle and/or the like. In one embodiment, each vehicle 100may be associated with a unique vehicle identifier (such as a vehicleID) that uniquely identifies the vehicle 100. The unique vehicle ID mayinclude characters, such as numbers, letters, symbols, and/or the like.For example, an alphanumeric vehicle ID (e.g., “AS445” and/or“1G6AF5SX6D0125409”) may be associated with each vehicle 100. In anotherembodiment, the unique vehicle ID may be the license plate, registrationnumber, or other identifying information/data assigned to the vehicle100.

FIG. 1 shows one or more computing entities, devices, and/or similarwords used herein interchangeably that are associated with the vehicle100, such as an information/data collection device 130 or othercomputing entities. In general, the terms computing entity, entity,device, system, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably mayrefer to, for example, one or more computers, computing entities,desktop computers, mobile phones, tablets, phablets, notebooks, laptops,distributed systems, gaming consoles (e.g., Xbox, Play Station, Wii),watches, glasses, iBeacons, proximity beacons, key fobs, radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tags, ear pieces, scanners, televisions, dongles,cameras, wristbands, wearable items/devices, items/devices, vehicles,kiosks, input terminals, servers or server networks, blades, gateways,switches, processing devices, processing entities, set-top boxes,relays, routers, network access points, base stations, the like, and/orany combination of devices or entities adapted to perform the functions,operations, and/or processes described herein. FIG. 2 provides a blockdiagram of an exemplary information/data collection device 130 that maybe attached, affixed, disposed upon, integrated into, or part of avehicle 100. The information/data collection device 130 may collecttelematics information/data (including location data) and transmit/sendthe information/data to various other computing entities via one ofseveral communication methods.

In one embodiment, the information/data collection device 130 mayinclude, be associated with, or be in wired or wireless communicationwith one or more processors 200 (various exemplary processors aredescribed in greater detail below), one or more location-determiningdevices or one or more location sensors 120 (e.g., Global NavigationSatellite System (GNSS) sensors), one or more telematics sensors 125,one or more real-time clocks 215, a J-Bus protocol architecture, one ormore electronic control modules (ECM) 245, one or more communicationports 230 for receiving telematics information/data from various sensors(e.g., via a CAN-bus), one or more communication ports 205 fortransmitting/sending data, one or more RFID tags/sensors 250, one ormore power sources 220, one or more information/data radios 235 forcommunication with a variety of communication networks, one or morememory modules 210, and one or more programmable logic controllers (PLC)225. It should be noted that many of these components may be located inthe vehicle 100 but external to the information/data collection device130.

In one embodiment, the one or more location sensors 120, modules, orsimilar words used herein interchangeably may be one of severalcomponents in wired or wireless communication with or available to theinformation/data collection device 130. Moreover, the one or morelocation sensors 120 may be compatible with GPS satellites 117, such asLow Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems, Department of Defense (DOD)satellite systems, the European Union Galileo positioning systems, theChinese Compass navigation systems, Indian Regional Navigationalsatellite systems, and/or the like. This information/data can becollected using a variety of coordinate systems, such as the DecimalDegrees (DD); Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS); Universal TransverseMercator (UTM); Universal Polar Stereographic (CARRIER) coordinatesystems; and/or the like. Alternatively, triangulation may be used inconnection with a device associated with a particular vehicle 100 and/orthe vehicle's operator and with various communication points (e.g.,cellular towers or Wi-Fi access points) positioned at various locationsthroughout a geographic area to monitor the location of the vehicle 100and/or its operator. The one or more location sensors 120 may be used toreceive latitude, longitude, altitude, heading or direction, geocode,course, position, time, and/or speed information/data (e.g., referred toherein as telematics information/data and further described hereinbelow). The one or more location sensors 120 may also communicate with avariety of computing entities.

As indicated, in addition to the one or more location sensors 120, theinformation/data collection device 130 may include and/or be associatedwith one or more telematics sensors 125, modules, and/or similar wordsused herein interchangeably. For example, the telematics sensors 125 mayinclude vehicle sensors, such as engine, fuel, odometer, hubometer, tirepressure, location, weight, emissions, door, and speed sensors. Thetelematics information/data may include, but is not limited to, speeddata, emissions data, RPM data, tire pressure data, oil pressure data,seat belt usage data, distance data, fuel data, idle data, and/or thelike (e.g., referred to herein as telematics data). The telematicssensors 125 may include environmental sensors, such as air qualitysensors, temperature sensors, and/or the like. Thus, the telematicsinformation/data may also include carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides(NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), Ethylene Oxide (EtO), ozone (O₃), hydrogensulfide (H₂S) and/or ammonium (NH₄) data, and/or meteorologicalinformation/data (e.g., referred to herein as telematics data).

In one embodiment, the ECM 245 may be one of several components incommunication with and/or available to the information/data collectiondevice 130. The ECM 245, which may be a scalable and subservient deviceto the information/data collection device 130, may have information/dataprocessing capability to decode and store analog and digital inputs fromvehicle systems and sensors. The ECM 245 may further haveinformation/data processing capability to collect and present telematicsinformation/data to the J-Bus (which may allow transmission to theinformation/data collection device 130), and output standard vehiclediagnostic codes when received from a vehicle's J-Bus-compatibleon-board controllers 240 and/or sensors.

As indicated, a communication port 230 may be one of several componentsavailable in the information/data collection device 130 (or be in or asa separate computing entity). Embodiments of the communication port 230may include an Infrared information/data Association (IrDA)communication port, an information/data radio, and/or a serial port. Thecommunication port 230 may receive instructions for the information/datacollection device 130. These instructions may be specific to the vehicle100 in which the information/data collection device 130 is installed,specific to the geographic area in which the vehicle 100 will betraveling, specific to the function the vehicle 100 serves within afleet, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the information/data radio235 may be configured to communicate with a wireless wide area network(WWAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal areanetwork (WPAN), or any combination thereof. For example, theinformation/data radio 235 may communicate via various wirelessprotocols, such as 802.11, general packet radio service (GPRS),Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Code DivisionMultiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), CDMA2000 1×(1×RTT), Wideband CodeDivision Multiple Access (WCDMA), Time Division-Synchronous CodeDivision Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), Evolution-DataOptimized (EVDO), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), High-Speed DownlinkPacket Access (HSDPA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), 802.16 (WiMAX), ultrawideband (UWB), infrared (IR) protocols, Bluetooth protocols (includingBluetooth low energy (BLE)), wireless universal serial bus (USB)protocols, and/or any other wireless protocol.

2. Exemplary Item

In one embodiment, an item 103 may be any tangible and/or physicalobject. In one embodiment, an item 103 may be or be enclosed in one ormore packages, envelopes, parcels, bags, goods, products, containers,loads, crates, items banded together, vehicle parts, pallets, drums, thelike, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably. In oneembodiment, each item 103 may include and/or be associated with anitem/shipment identifier, such as an alphanumeric identifier. Suchitem/shipment identifiers may be represented as text, barcodes, tags,character strings, Aztec Codes, MaxiCodes, Data Matrices, Quick Response(QR) Codes, electronic representations, and/or the like. A uniqueitem/shipment identifier (e.g., 123456789) may be used by the carrier toidentify and track the item 103 as it moves through the carrier'stransportation network. Further, such item/shipment identifiers can beaffixed to items 103 by, for example, using a sticker (e.g., label) withthe unique item/shipment identifier printed thereon (in human and/ormachine readable form) or an RFID tag with the unique item/shipmentidentifier stored therein. Such items may be referred to as “connected”items 103 and/or “non-connected” items 103.

In one embodiment, connected items 103 include the ability to determinetheir locations and/or communicate with various computing entities. Thismay include the item 103 being able to communicate via a chip or otherdevices, such as an integrated circuit chip, RFID technology, Near FieldCommunication (NFC) technology, Bluetooth technology, Wi-Fi technology,and any other suitable communication techniques, standards, or protocolswith one another and/or communicate with various computing entities fora variety of purposes. Connected items 103 may include one or morecomponents that are functionally similar to those of the carriercomputing system 105 and/or the customer computing entity 110 asdescribed below. For example, in one embodiment, each connected item 103may include one or more processing elements, one or more displaydevice/input devices (e.g., including user interfaces), volatile andnon-volatile storage or memory, and/or one or more communicationsinterfaces. In this regard, in some example embodiments, an item 103 maycommunicate send “to” address information/data, received “from” addressinformation/data, unique identifier codes, location information/data,status information/data, and/or various other information/data.

In one embodiment, non-connected items 103 do not typically include theability to determine their locations and/or might not be ablecommunicate with various computing entities or are not designated to doso by the carrier. The location of non-connected items 103 can bedetermined with the aid of other appropriate computing entities. Forexample, non-connected items 103 can be scanned (e.g., affixed barcodes,RFID tags, and/or the like) or have the containers or vehicles in whichthey are located scanned or located. As will be recognized, an actualscan or location determination of an item 103 is not necessarilyrequired to determine the location of an item 103. That is, a scanningoperation might not actually be performed on a label affixed directly toan item 103 or location determination might not be made specifically foror by an item 103. For example, a label on a larger container housingmany items 103 can be scanned, and by association, the location of theitems 103 housed within the container are considered to be located inthe container at the scanned location. Similarly, the location of avehicle 100 transporting many items can be determined, and byassociation, the location of the items 103 being transported by thevehicle 100 are considered to be located in the vehicle 100 at thedetermined location. These can be referred to as “logical”scans/determinations or “virtual” scans/determinations. Thus, thelocation of the items 103 is based on the assumption they are within thecontainer or vehicle 100, despite the fact that one or more of suchitems 103 might not actually be there.

3. Exemplary Carrier Computing System

FIG. 3 provides a schematic of a carrier computing system 105 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. A carrier may be atraditional carrier, such as United Parcel Service, FedEx, DHL, courierservices, the United States Postal Service (USPS), Canadian Post,freight companies (e.g., truck-load, less-than-truckload, rail carriers,air carriers, ocean carriers, etc.), and/or the like. However, a carriermay also be a nontraditional carrier, such as Amazon, Google, Apple,Uber, ride-sharing services, crowd-sourcing services, retailers, and/orthe like. A carrier computing system 105 may be located at a carrierlocation and/or the like, such as a carrier service center, will call,kiosk, drop-box, locker system, hub, facility, and/or the like. Ingeneral, the terms computing entity, entity, device, system, and/orsimilar words used herein interchangeably may refer to, for example, oneor more computers, computing entities, desktop computers, mobile phones,tablets, phablets, notebooks, laptops, distributed systems, gamingconsoles (e.g., Xbox, Play Station, Wii), watches, glasses, iBeacons,proximity beacons, key fobs, RFID tags, ear pieces, scanners,televisions, dongles, cameras, wristbands, wearable items/devices,items/devices, vehicles, kiosks, input terminals, servers or servernetworks, blades, gateways, switches, processing devices, processingentities, set-top boxes, relays, routers, network access points, basestations, the like, and/or any combination of devices or entitiesadapted to perform the functions, operations, and/or processes describedherein. Such functions, operations, and/or processes may include, forexample, transmitting, receiving, operating on, processing, displaying,storing, determining, creating/generating, monitoring, evaluating,comparing, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably. In oneembodiment, these functions, operations, and/or processes can beperformed on data, content, information, and/or similar terms usedherein interchangeably.

As indicated, in one embodiment, the carrier computing system 105 mayalso include one or more communications interfaces 320 for communicatingwith various computing entities, such as by communicating data, content,information, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably that canbe transmitted, received, operated on, processed, displayed, stored,and/or the like. The carrier computing system 105 can also be used formaking, receiving, and/or transferring payments. Payments may be in avariety of forms, such as via debit cards, credit cards, direct credits,direct debits, cash, check, money order, Internet banking, e-commercepayment networks/systems (e.g., PayPal™, Google Wallet, AmazonPayments), virtual currencies (e.g., Bitcoins), award or reward points,and/or the like. Such payments may be made using a variety of techniquesand approaches, including through NFC technologies such as PayPass,Android Beam, Bluetooth low energy (BLE), and various other contactlesspayment systems. Further, such payment technologies may include PayPalBeacon, Android Pay, Booker, Erply, Leaf, Apple Pay, Leapset, Micros,PayPal Here, Revel, ShopKeep, TouchBistro, Vend, and/or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the carrier computing system 105may include or be in communication with one or more processing elements305 (also referred to as processors, processing circuitry, and/orsimilar terms used herein interchangeably) that communicate with otherelements within the carrier computing system 105 via a bus, for example.As will be understood, the processing element 305 may be embodied in anumber of different ways. For example, the processing element 305 may beembodied as one or more complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs),microprocessors, multi-core processors, coprocessing entities,application-specific instruction-set processors (ASIPs), and/orcontrollers. Further, the processing element 305 may be embodied as oneor more other processing devices or circuitry. The term circuitry mayrefer to an entirely hardware embodiment or a combination of hardwareand computer program products. Thus, the processing element 305 may beembodied as integrated circuits, application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmablelogic arrays (PLAs), hardware accelerators, other circuitry, and/or thelike. As will therefore be understood, the processing element 305 may beconfigured for a particular use or configured to execute instructionsstored in volatile or non-volatile media or otherwise accessible to theprocessing element 305. As such, whether configured by hardware orcomputer program products, or by a combination thereof, the processingelement 305 may be capable of performing steps or operations accordingto embodiments of the present invention when configured accordingly.

In one embodiment, the carrier computing system 105 may further includeor be in communication with non-volatile media (also referred to asnon-volatile storage, memory, memory storage, memory circuitry and/orsimilar terms used herein interchangeably). In one embodiment, thenon-volatile storage or memory may include one or more non-volatilestorage or memory media 310 as described above, such as hard disks, ROM,PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, MMCs, SD memory cards, Memory Sticks,CBRAM, PRAM, FeRAM, RRAM, SONOS, racetrack memory, and/or the like. Aswill be recognized, the non-volatile storage or memory media may storedatabases, database instances, database management system entities,data, applications, programs, program modules, scripts, source code,object code, byte code, compiled code, interpreted code, machine code,executable instructions, and/or the like. The term database, databaseinstance, database management system entity, and/or similar terms usedherein interchangeably may refer to a structured collection of recordsor information/data that is stored in a computer-readable storagemedium, such as via a relational database, hierarchical database, and/ornetwork database.

In one embodiment, the carrier computing system 105 may further includeor be in communication with volatile media (also referred to as volatilestorage, memory, memory storage, memory circuitry and/or similar termsused herein interchangeably). In one embodiment, the volatile storage ormemory may also include one or more volatile storage or memory media 315as described above, such as RAM, DRAM, SRAM, FPM DRAM, EDO DRAM, SDRAM,DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RDRAM, RIMM, DIMM, SIMM, VRAM, cachememory, register memory, and/or the like. As will be recognized, thevolatile storage or memory media may be used to store at least portionsof the databases, database instances, database management systementities, data, applications, programs, program modules, scripts, sourcecode, object code, byte code, compiled code, interpreted code, machinecode, executable instructions, and/or the like being executed by, forexample, the processing element 305. Thus, the databases, databaseinstances, database management system entities, data, applications,programs, program modules, scripts, source code, object code, byte code,compiled code, interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions,and/or the like may be used to control certain aspects of the operationof the carrier computing system 105 with the assistance of theprocessing element 305 and operating system.

As indicated, in one embodiment, the carrier computing system 105 mayalso include one or more communications interfaces 320 for communicatingwith various computing entities, such as by communicating data, content,information, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably that canbe transmitted, received, operated on, processed, displayed, stored,and/or the like.

Such communication may be executed using a wired information/datatransmission protocol, such as fiber distributed information/datainterface (FDDI), digital subscriber line (DSL), Ethernet, asynchronoustransfer mode (ATM), frame relay, information/data over cable serviceinterface specification (DOCSIS), or any other wired transmissionprotocol. Similarly, the carrier computing system 105 may be configuredto communicate via wireless external communication networks using any ofa variety of protocols, such as GPRS, UMTS, CDMA2000, 1×RTT, WCDMA,TD-SCDMA, LTE, E-UTRAN, EVDO, HSPA, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, UWB, IRprotocols, Bluetooth protocols, USB protocols, and/or any other wirelessprotocol. Although not shown, the carrier computing system 105 mayinclude or be in communication with one or more input elements, such asa keyboard input, a mouse input, a touch screen/display input, audioinput, pointing device input, joystick input, keypad input, and/or thelike. The carrier computing system 105 may also include or be incommunication with one or more output elements (not shown), such asaudio output, video output, screen/display output, motion output,movement output, and/or the like.

As will be appreciated, one or more of the carrier computing system's105 components may be located remotely from other carrier computingsystem 105 components, such as in a distributed system. Furthermore, oneor more of the components may be combined and additional componentsperforming functions described herein may be included in the carriercomputing system 105. Thus, the carrier computing system 105 can beadapted to accommodate a variety of needs and circumstances.

4. Exemplary Customer Computing Entity

A customer may be an individual, a family, a family member, a company,an organization, an entity, a department within an organization, arepresentative of an organization and/or person, and/or the like.Depending on the context, customers may be consignors and/or consignees.Accordingly, the term customer may refer to both consignors and/orconsignees interchangeably. FIG. 4 provides an illustrative schematicrepresentative of a customer computing entity 110 that can be used inconjunction with embodiments of the present invention. In oneembodiment, the customer computing entities 110 may include one or morecomponents that are functionally similar to those of the carriercomputing system 105 and/or as described below. As shown in FIG. 4, acustomer computing entity 110 can include an antenna 412, a transmitter404 (e.g., radio), a receiver 406 (e.g., radio), and a processingelement 408 that provides signals to and receives signals from thetransmitter 404 and receiver 406, respectively.

The signals provided to and received from the transmitter 404 and thereceiver 406, respectively, may include signaling information/data inaccordance with an air interface standard of applicable wireless systemsto communicate with various entities, such as vehicles 100, carriercomputing systems 105, and/or the like. In this regard, the customercomputing entity 110 may be capable of operating with one or more airinterface standards, communication protocols, modulation types, andaccess types. More particularly, the customer computing entity 110 mayoperate in accordance with any of a number of wireless communicationstandards and protocols. In a particular embodiment, the customercomputing entity 110 may operate in accordance with multiple wirelesscommunication standards and protocols, such as GPRS, UMTS, CDMA2000,1×RTT, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, LTE, E-UTRAN, EVDO, HSPA, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, WiMAX,UWB, IR protocols, Bluetooth protocols, USB protocols, and/or any otherwireless protocol.

Via these communication standards and protocols, the customer computingentity 110 can communicate with various other entities using conceptssuch as Unstructured Supplementary Service information/data (USSD),Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS),Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency Signaling (DTMF), and/or Subscriber IdentityModule Dialer (SIM dialer). The customer computing entity 110 can alsodownload changes, add-ons, and updates, for instance, to its firmware,software (e.g., including executable instructions, applications, programmodules), and operating system. For example, in one embodiment, thecustomer computing entity 110 may store and execute a carrierapplication to assist in communicating with the carrier and/or forproviding location services regarding the same.

According to one embodiment, the customer computing entity 110 mayinclude location determining aspects, devices, modules, functionalities,and/or similar words used herein interchangeably. For example, thecustomer computing entity 110 may include outdoor positioning aspects,such as a location module adapted to acquire, for example, latitude,longitude, altitude, geocode, course, direction, heading, speed, UTC,date, and/or various other information/data. In one embodiment, thelocation module can acquire data, sometimes known as ephemeris data, byidentifying the number of satellites in view and the relative positionsof those satellites. The satellites may be a variety of differentsatellites, including LEO satellite systems, DOD satellite systems, theEuropean Union Galileo positioning systems, the Chinese Compassnavigation systems, Indian Regional Navigational satellite systems,and/or the like. Alternatively, the location information/data may bedetermined by triangulating the customer computing entity's 105 positionin connection with a variety of other systems, including cellulartowers, Wi-Fi access points, and/or the like. Similarly, the customercomputing entity 110 may include indoor positioning aspects, such as alocation module adapted to acquire, for example, latitude, longitude,altitude, geocode, course, direction, heading, speed, time, date, and/orvarious other information/data. Some of the indoor aspects may usevarious position or location technologies including RFID tags, indoorbeacons or transmitters, Wi-Fi access points, cellular towers, nearbycomputing devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops) and/or the like. Forinstance, such technologies may include iBeacons, Gimbal proximitybeacons, BLE transmitters, NFC transmitters, and/or the like. Theseindoor positioning aspects can be used in a variety of settings todetermine the location of someone or something to within inches orcentimeters.

The customer computing entity 110 may also comprise a user interface(that can include a display 416 coupled to a processing element 408)and/or a user input interface (coupled to a processing element 408). Forexample, the user interface may be an application, browser, userinterface, dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the customercomputing entity 110 to interact with and/or cause display ofinformation. The user input interface can comprise any of a number ofdevices allowing the customer computing entity 110 to receive data, suchas a keypad 418 (hard or soft), a touch display, voice/speech or motioninterfaces, scanners, readers, or other input device. In embodimentsincluding a keypad 418, the keypad 418 can include (or cause display of)the conventional numeric (0-9) and related keys (#, *), and other keysused for operating the customer computing entity 110 and may include afull set of alphabetic keys or set of keys that may be activated toprovide a full set of alphanumeric keys. In addition to providing input,the user input interface can be used, for example, to activate ordeactivate certain functions, such as screen savers and/or sleep modes.Through such inputs the customer computing entity can collect contextualinformation/data as part of the telematics data.

The customer computing entity 110 can also include volatile storage ormemory 422 and/or non-volatile storage or memory 424, which can beembedded and/or may be removable. For example, the non-volatile memorymay be ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, MMCs, SD memory cards,Memory Sticks, CBRAM, PRAM, FeRAM, RRAM, SONOS, racetrack memory, and/orthe like. The volatile memory may be RAM, DRAM, SRAM, FPM DRAM, EDODRAM, SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RDRAM, RIMM, DIMM, SIMM,VRAM, cache memory, register memory, and/or the like. The volatile andnon-volatile storage or memory can store databases, database instances,database management system entities, data, applications, programs,program modules, scripts, source code, object code, byte code, compiledcode, interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions, and/orthe like to implement the functions of the customer computing entity110.

5. Exemplary Carrier Personnel Computing Entity

As will be recognized, carrier personnel computing entities 115 can beoperated by various parties, including a carrier pick-up/delivery personand/or operators of vehicles 100. For example, a user may be a carrierpick-up/delivery person picking up items from and/or delivering items tocustomers. Moreover, a carrier personnel computing entity 115 mayinclude one or more components that are functionally similar to those ofthe carrier computing system 105 and/or the customer computing entity110. For example, in one embodiment, each carrier personnel computingentity 115 may include one or more processing elements (e.g., CPLDs,microprocessors, multi-core processors, coprocessing entities, ASIPs,microcontrollers, and/or controllers), one or more display device/inputdevices (e.g., including user interfaces), volatile and non-volatilestorage or memory, and/or one or more communications interfaces. Forexample, the user interface may be a user application, browser, userinterface, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing onand/or accessible via the carrier personnel computing entity 115 tointeract with and/or cause display of information from various othercomputing entities. As will be recognized, these architectures anddescriptions are provided for exemplary purposes only and are notlimiting to the various embodiments.

III. Exemplary System Operation

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 5-8. FIG. 5 is a flowchartillustrating operations and processes that can be used in accordancewith various embodiments of the present invention. FIGS. 6-8 areexemplary input and output produced in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention.

1. Registration

In one embodiment, as indicated in Block 500 of FIG. 5, the process maybegin with the enrollment/registration of one or more customers (e.g.,consignors and/or consignees) for an account, subscription, program,and/or similar words used herein interchangeably for connection-basedservices. In another embodiment, the customer may be automaticallyenrolled/registered for the same. As previously noted, a customer may bean individual, a family, a family member, a company, an organization, anentity, a department within an organization, a representative of anorganization and/or person, and/or the like. To register, a customer(e.g., a customer operating a customer computing entity 110) may accessa webpage, mobile application, application, dashboard, browser, orportal of an entity that provides notification/message services.

In one embodiment, as part of the enrollment/registration process, acustomer (e.g., a customer operating a customer computing entity 110)may be requested to provide information/data (e.g., including customerinformation/data, biographic information/data, geographicinformation/data, device/entity information/data, paymentinformation/data, and/or the like) by the carrier computing system 105(e.g., via the registration module). The information/data may bemanually input by a customer; may be automatically provided by allowingaccess to other accounts, such as Amazon.com, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter,PayPal, and/or the like; may be automatically collected by variouscomputing entities (including automatic device identification);combinations thereof; and/or other techniques and approaches. Forinstance, the biographic information/data may include the customer'sname, such as a first name, a last name, a company name, an entity name,an organization name, and/or the like. The geographic information/datamay also include one or more physical addresses or locations associatedwith the customer (e.g., street address, city, state, postal code,and/or country). The physical addresses or locations may be residentialaddresses, commercial addresses, geocodes, latitude and longitudepoints, virtual addresses, and/or the like. In one embodiment, thecustomer information/data may include one or more electronic signaturesand signature formats for electronically signing documents, releases,and/or the like.

In one embodiment, the customer information/data may include one or morecommunication formats for communicating with the customer as part of hisor her notification/message preferences. The communication formats mayinclude text notifications/messages (e.g., SMS, MMS), emailnotifications/messages, voice notifications/messages, videonotifications/messages (e.g., YouTube, the Vine), picturenotifications/messages (e.g., Instagram), social medianotifications/messages (e.g., private social media created internallyfor entities, business social media (e.g., Yammer, SocialCast), orpublic social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), and/or avariety of other notifications/messages in various communicationformats. In addition to the one or more communication formats, thecustomer (e.g., operating a customer computing entity 110) can providethe corresponding electronic destination addresses to be used inproviding information/data associated with the notification/messageservices to the customer (e.g., email addresses, online handles, phonenumbers, usernames, etc.). For instance, for textnotifications/messages, the customer may provide one or more cellularphone numbers. For email notifications/messages, the customer mayprovide one or more email addresses. And for voicenotifications/messages, the customer may provide one or more cellular orlandline phone numbers or other electronic destination addresses towhich audio files can be delivered. Additionally, in one embodiment,validation operations can be performed with respect to each inputelectronic destination address—to ensure accuracy. As will berecognized, a variety of other types of electronic destination addressescan be used to adapt to various needs and circumstances.

In one embodiment, as indicated in Block 505 of FIG. 5, device/entityinformation/data, customer information/data, physical address orlocation information/data, and/or the like (customer computing entities110, carrier personnel computing entities 115, vehicles 100, and/or thelike) may be received, provided, obtained, detected, assigned,collected, requested, and/or similar words used herein interchangeablyas part of the registration/enrollment process. As will be recognized,device/entity information/data may be collected for any number ofdevices or entities for association with a customer's account,subscription, program, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably.The device/entity information/data may include one or more entity ordevice identifiers—phone numbers, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)numbers, Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, International MobileSubscriber Identity (IMSI) numbers, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses,Mobile Equipment Identifiers (MEIDs), unit identifiers (e.g., GPS unitidentifiers, Unique Device Identifiers (UDiDs)), mobile identificationnumbers (MINs), IMSI_S (Short IMSIs), email addresses, usernames,Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs), Integrated Circuit Card Identifiers(ICCIDs), electronic serial numbers (ESN), International MobileEquipment Identities (IMEIs), Wi-Fi IDs, RFID tags, and/or the like. Thedevice/entity information/data may include a device's vendor, model,specification authority, version, components, software specificationand/or version, person associated with the device, and/or the like. Thedevice/entity information/data may be used to track, monitor, connectwith, communicate with, and/or the like the corresponding devices orentities.

In one embodiment, with the appropriate information/data, the carriercomputing system 105 may create a customer profile for the customer viathe enrollment/registration process. Accordingly, the carrier computingsystem 105 may create, store, and/or have access to various customerprofiles and/or information/data associated with the customer profiles.In addition to at least the information/data described above, a customerprofile may include one or more corresponding usernames, passwords,images, tokens, challenge phrases, reminders, and/or the like (referredto herein as credentials) for accessing accounts, applications,services, entities, and/or the like. As will be recognized, a variety ofother approaches and techniques can be used to adapt to various needsand circumstances.

In one embodiment, a customer profile identifier may be used to uniquelyidentify a customer profile. In another embodiment, a customer profileidentifier may be used to uniquely identify a given address associatedwith a customer profile. In such an embodiment, if a customer profile isassociated with four addresses, the carrier computing system 105 maycreate and store four customer profile identifiers in association withthe customer profile. The customer profile identifier may also be storedin association with shipping information/data for an item to associatethe item (and its shipping information/data) with the (a) correctcustomer (e.g., customer profile) and/or (b) correct address for acustomer. Moreover, the carrier computing system 105 can associateshipping information/data for an item 103 with the correspondingcustomer profile. This may include appending the shippinginformation/data with the appropriate customer profile identifier (orother identifier corresponding to the customer profile). For instance,the shipping information/data for all shipments corresponding to SmithCo. Automotive's customer profile may be appended with the customerprofile identifier (or other identifier) created for Smith Co.Automotive. In various embodiments, using this approach allows items(and their shipping information/data) to be linked to appropriatecustomer profiles. Thus, when a user at Smith Co. Automotive accessesits account, he or she can view all of his shipments (e.g., thoseshipments with shipping information/data appended with his customerprofile identifier (or other identifier)). Similarly, any actionsselected by the customer for an item can be passed to the shippinginformation/data for the item.

Customer-Defined Configurable/Determinable Parameters

In one embodiment, once a customer profile has been created by thecarrier computing system 105, the customer (e.g., operating a customercomputing entity 110) can define, identify, provide, and/or similarwords used herein interchangeably one or more configurable/determinableparameters to be used in association with the customer's account,subscription, and/or program (Block 510 of FIG. 5). For instance, thecustomer can define one or more configurable/determinable parameters tobe used in association with specific events/actions and/ormessages/notifications. For example, the customer (e.g., operating acustomer computing entity 110) can define the entities to whichconnections must be established to (a) generate a notification/messageto the customer or to a carrier pick-up/delivery person (and/or variousother parties), (b) automatically allow or disallow delivery or pick-upof an item 103, (c) confirm that an item 103 was picked up or delivered,and/or (d) the like. For example, a customer (such as a commercialwarehouse or dock of a retail store) can define theconfigurable/determinable parameters to require that a connection orcommunication be established with any number of registered customercomputing entities 110 (e.g., operated by warehouse or dock personnel).This approach may allow for customers to control deliveries when they ortheir personnel are within a configurable distance or range of an item103 being delivered or the person delivering the item 103. As will berecognized, a variety of other approaches and techniques can be used toadapt to various needs and circumstances.

Carrier-Defined Configurable/Determinable Parameters

Similarly, once a customer profile has been created by a carriercomputing system 105, the carrier computing system 105 can provide oneor more configurable/determinable parameters to be used in associationwith the customer's account, subscription, and/or program (Block 510 ofFIG. 5). For example, a carrier computing system 105 can define one ormore configurable/determinable parameters (e.g., configurable levels) tobe used in association with specific events/actions and/ormessages/notifications. As noted, in one embodiment, each event may beassociated with its own configurable/determinable parameters. In anotherembodiment, all events may be associated with the sameconfigurable/determinable parameters.

In various embodiments, the configurable/determinable parameters candefine the entities to which connections must be established to (a)generate a notification/message to the customer or to a carrierpick-up/delivery person (and/or various other parties), (b)automatically allow or disallow delivery or pick-up of an item 103, (c)confirm that an item 103 was picked up or delivered, and/or (d) thelike. For example, in one embodiment, in the pick-up and deliverycontext, certain serviceable points (e.g., pick-up and/or deliverylocations) and/or geographic areas may be referred to as non-driverrelease stops or non-driver release areas. Non-driver releasestops/areas are stops/areas in which a carrier pick-up/delivery personmay not leave an item 103 unclaimed and/or unattended as part ofdelivery. To identify such stops/areas, historical deliveryinformation/data may be analyzed or the type of stop may be defined(e.g., commercial vs. residential). For such stops/areas, carrierpick-up/delivery persons are typically required to obtain an actualsignature of the consignee or recipient. In one embodiment, carrierefficiency in non-driver release stops/areas can be increased by notrequiring return trips in the event a consignee or recipient isunavailable to sign for an item 103. For example, the carrier computingsystem 105 can define the registered customer computing entities 110with which a connection can be established to trigger a specificevent/action—such as automatically allowing or disallowing delivery ofan item, initiating shipment of an item, initiating movement of an item,generating shipping information/data, and/or the like. If the specifiedconfigurable/determinable parameters are satisfied, a carrierpick-up/delivery person can release the item 103 for delivery and reducethe number of delivery attempts at the delivery address. As will berecognized, a variety of other approaches and techniques can be used toadapt to various needs and circumstances.

Exemplary Configurable/Determinable Parameters

FIG. 6 provides exemplary configurable/determinable parameters to helpin understanding embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 6, threedifferent examples are provided for attempted deliveries withoutrequiring an actual signature for Smith Co. Automotive located at 101Main Street, Anytown, GA 11111. Such configurable/determinableparameters solve the technical problem of confirming one's visit to alocation without requiring human interaction. In these examples, theconfigurable/determinable parameters define the events, the locations,applicable days, applicable times, and the entities with whichconnections can be established.

The first set of configurable/determinable parameters define theentities with which connections can be established or communications canoccur for deliveries on Monday-Friday between 9:00 am-6:00 pm at thewarehouse dock. In this example, if an appropriate carrier computingentity (e.g., the carrier personnel computing entity 115 or the vehicle)can establish a connection or communication with the any registeredemployee's mobile device or John Smith's mobile device, thecorresponding item can be released for delivery at the warehouse dockwithout an actual signature (but use the electronic signature stored viathe profile).

The second set of configurable/determinable parameters define theentities with which connections can be established or communications canoccur for deliveries on Monday-Friday between 6:01 pm-8:59 am at thefront door. In this example, if an appropriate carrier computing entity(e.g., the carrier personnel computing entity 115 or the vehicle) canestablish a connection or communication with John Smith's mobile device,the corresponding item can be released for delivery at the front doorwithout an actual customer signature (using the electronic signaturestored via the profile).

And the third set of configurable/determinable parameters define theentities with which connections can be established or communications canoccur for deliveries on Saturday or Sunday (all day) at the front door.In this example, if an appropriate carrier computing entity (e.g., thecarrier personnel computing entity 115 or the vehicle) can establish aconnection or communication with John Smith's mobile device, thecorresponding item can be released for delivery at the front doorwithout a signature. As will be recognized, a variety of otherapproaches and techniques can be used to adapt to various needs andcircumstances.

2. Connections/Communications

As will be recognized, certain communication technologies and protocolshave range limitations for directly connecting to and/or directlycommunicating with computing entities (e.g., point-to-point,peer-to-peer, WLAN, WPAN, and/or the like). For example, variousBluetooth technologies may have range limitations from 20 feet to 300feet. NFC technologies may have range limitations of less than 12inches. Wi-Fi Direct may have range limitations of 600 feet. Thus,depending on the application or context, various communicationtechnologies and protocols can be used to adapt to various needs andcircumstances. For instance, NFC, Wi-Fi Direct, or Bluetoothtechnologies may be used to determine/identify whether a person orcomputing entity is present at a delivery location to determine whetheran item should be allowed or disallowed for delivery. As will berecognized, a variety of other approaches and techniques can be used toadapt to various needs and circumstances.

In one embodiment, an appropriate computing entity can determine whetheran item should be allowed or disallowed for delivery when carrierpersonnel computing entities 115 or vehicles 100 connect to orcommunicate with registered customer computing entities 110. Forinstance, in the Bluetooth context, a customer computing entity 110 canconnect with multiple devices simultaneously with each device beingwithin a 30-foot radius. In essence, Bluetooth systems createpersonal-area networks (PANS) or piconets that may fill an area, room,or vehicle. To create a connection between a customer computing entity110 and a carrier personnel computing entity 115, a trusted relationshipis established between the devices using credential information/data(e.g., passwords and/or other credentials) that can be stored by eachdevice for future connection attempts (e.g., the devices are paired).After computing entities have been paired or credential information/datastored, establishing a connection begins with a phase called “inquiry”through which a carrier personnel computing entity 115 sends an inquiryrequest to all customer computing entities 110 found within its range.The customer computing entities 110 within range would then receive thequery and reply. The carrier personnel computing entity 115 thensynchronizes with the various customer computing entities 110 withinrange. Once the computing entities are connected (e.g., a connection isestablished) or communicate, an appropriate computing entity candetermine whether an item should be allowed or disallowed for deliveryand can provide notifications/messages regarding the same. As will berecognized, other communication technologies and protocols (e.g., NFC,Wibree, HomeRF, SWAP, Wi-Fi Direct, and/or the like) can be used in asimilar manner in terms of connecting and disconnecting with carrierpersonnel computing entities 115. That is, the other communicationtechnologies and protocols can communicate with or establish connectionsbetween customer computing entities 110 and carrier personnel computingentities 115.

In one embodiment, the monitoring computing entity 100 (and/or a varietyof other computing entities) may perform connection-based monitoringregularly, periodically, continuously, during certain time periods ortime frames, on certain days, upon determining the occurrence of one ormore configurable/determinable triggers/events, combinations thereof,and/or the like (Block 515 of FIG. 4). For example, in the deliverycontext, the appropriate computing entity may continuously monitorconnections or attempt to connect to registered entities using shippinginformation/data. In one embodiment, the carrier computing entity 105(and/or a variety of other computing entities) may performconnection-based monitoring upon determining the occurrence of one ormore configurable triggers/events, in response to requests, in responseto determinations/identifications, combinations thereof, and/or thelike. In one example, the connection-based monitoring can be initiatedusing a variety of different triggers—(a) a designated carrier vehicle100 being turned on or off; (b) a designated carrier vehicle 100beginning to move; (c) a designated carrier vehicle 100 slowing to astop; (d) an entity moving out of a geofenced area; (e) an entity movinginto a geofenced area; and/or a variety of other triggers/events. In oneembodiment, the determining/identifying can be initiated in response toa request or determination, such as (a) a scan of an item 103 at apick-up or delivery location (e.g., a carrier pick-up/delivery personoperating a carrier personnel computing entity 115 to scan an item 103and/or request instructions from the carrier computing entity 105); (b)a determination that an item 103 will be delivered in the next 5 or 10minutes (configurable time period); (c) a determination that an item 103is among the next 5 or 7 items 103 to be delivered (configurablenumber); and/or a variety of other requests or determinations. As willbe recognized, a variety of other triggers/events can be used to adaptto various needs and circumstances. If a configurable/determinabletrigger/event is not detected, an appropriate computing entity candetermine/identify whether a configurable time period has begun orended. If the appropriate computing entity determines/identifies thatthe configurable time period has not begun or ended, the appropriatecomputing entity can continue monitoring for configurable/determinabletriggers/events. However, if the appropriate computing entitydetermines/identifies that the configurable time period has begun orended, the appropriate computing entity (e.g., monitoring computingentity 100) can continuously monitor whether one or more customercomputing entities 110 are connected to (e.g., communicating with) oneor more carrier personnel computing entities 115. The monitoring maycontinue indefinitely, until the occurrence of one or moreconfigurable/determinable triggers/events, until a configurable timeperiod has elapsed, combinations thereof, and/or the like.

Continuing with the above example, a carrier pick-up/delivery person(operating a carrier personnel computing entity 115) can scan an item,read an item, interrogate an item, or communicate with an item that isto be delivered (Block 515 of FIG. 5). In another embodiment, it can bedetermined that item will be delivered within a configurable period oftime (in the next 2, 5, or 10 minutes) or a configurable numbers ofitems (the next 5 or 7 items 103). In either case, the shippinginformation/data for the item can initiate a determination as to whetherthe pick-up or delivery of the item 103 should be allowed or disallowed.In one embodiment, to make this determination, the customer profile forthe item can be accessed to identify any relatedconfigurable/determinable parameters for delivering the item 103. Forexample, the customer profile identifier in the shippinginformation/data can be used to identify and access the correspondingprofile (e.g., the customer identifier maps or resolves to the profile).Then, using the profile, an appropriate computing entity canidentify/determine any related configurable/determinable parameters fordelivering the item 103 (Block 520 of FIG. 5). In another embodiment,any related configurable/determinable parameters for delivering the item103 can be stored in association with the shipping information/data.With the configurable/determinable parameters for delivering the item103, an appropriate computing entity can either (a) monitor forconnections of customer computing entities 110 (Block 525A of FIG. 5)and/or (b) attempt to connect with one or more registered customercomputing entities 110 (Block 525B of FIG. 5).

Generally, the connections between one or more customer computingentities 110 and/or one or more of the carrier personnel computingentities 115 can be attempted by or monitored by any of a variety ofcomputing entities—including carrier computing systems 105, customercomputing entities 110, carrier personnel computing entities 115, and/orthe like. Continuing with the above example, an appropriate computingentity may determine/identify when a customer computing entity 110 and acarrier personnel computing entity 115 are connected or communicatingwith one another and satisfy the configurable/determinable parameters.For instance, after a carrier pick-up/delivery person (operating acarrier personnel computing entity 115) scans, reads, interrogates, orcommunicates with an item 103, using the registered customer computingentity 110 information, the carrier personnel computing entity 115 canmonitor for connections to or attempt to connect to one or more customercomputing entity 110 associated with the item 103 using the deviceinformation/data previously collected or obtained. Alternatively oradditionally, the carrier personnel computing entity 115 candetermine/identify whether the configurable/determinable parameters aresatisfied (e.g., day, time, location, and devices) to allow or disallowdelivery of the corresponding item (Block 530 of FIG. 5).

If the configurable/determinable parameters are satisfied (e.g., day,time, location, and connected devices), the item 103 can be allowed fordelivery. In this example, an appropriate computing entity can allow thedelivery and provide a notification/message to the carrier personnelcomputing entity 115 for display via the interface regarding the same(see FIG. 7). Otherwise, the appropriate computing entity will disallowthe delivery and provide a notification/message to the carrier personnelcomputing entity 115 regarding the same (see FIG. 8).

Responsive to allowing or disallowing delivery of an item, the carrierpersonnel computing entity 115 indicate or provide an indication of thesame ((e.g., that the carrier personnel computing entity 115 isconnected to the customer computing entity 110 for John Smith)—Blocks535 and 540 of FIG. 5). The indication may include device or entityinformation/data associated with the corresponding customer computingentity 110 and/or carrier personnel computing entity 115, such as thecorresponding device identifiers and names. The indication may alsoinclude other information/data, such as the location at which theentities connected (e.g., geocode or GPS samples), the time at which theentities connected, and/or the like. The appropriate computing entitycan then store the information/data in one more records and/or inassociation with the account, subscription, program, shippinginformation/data, and/or the like. The information/data can also bestored in association with tracking information/data for the item 103.This may include storing the electronic signature from the customer'sprofile in association with the shipping information/data for the item103. That is, the connection can serve as an electronic signature by thecustomer, and the electronic signature can then be stored accordinglywith the shipping information/data.

The appropriate computing entity can also provide notifications/messagesin accordance with users' notification/message preferences. For example,the carrier computing system 105 (and/or other appropriately configuredcomputing entities) can automatically provide (e.g., generate, queue,and/or transmit) one or more notifications/messages based on theconfigurable/determinable parameters for a given account (messages toboth consignors and/or consignees). For example, the carrier computingsystem 105 (and/or other appropriately configured computing entities)can automatically provide the notifications/messages to the electronicdestination addresses regarding items that have been picked-up ordelivered or have been attempted to be picked-up or delivered. As willbe recognized, this may include generating, queuing, and/or transmittingan email message to a customer's email address, a text message to acustomer's cellular phone, a notification/message to a designatedapplication, and/or the like based on the configurable/determinableparameters. As will be recognized, a variety of types of messages can beprovided to various electronic destination addresses in responsecompleting or attempting pick-ups or deliveries. Suchnotifications/messages may include links or access to shippinginformation/data and/or the real time location of the item 103. Thelinks or access to information/data sources may be used to providereal-time location information/data of the corresponding carrierpersonnel computing entity 115. Such notifications/messages can beprovided on a periodic or regular basis and/or in response to certaintriggers/events.

IV. Conclusion

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseinventions pertain, having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: causing a connection to beestablished between a first computing entity and a second computingentity based on credential information; based on the connection beingestablished, causing a synchronization of the first computing entity andthe second computing entity, wherein at least one of: thesynchronization or the established connection allows for communicationbetween the first computing entity and the second entity; determiningthat one or more triggering events have occurred, wherein the one ormore triggering events comprises one or more of: (1) a designatedcarrier vehicle turning on or off, (2) the designated carrier vehiclebeginning to move, and (3) the designated carrier vehicle slowing to astop; in response to the determining, monitoring the establishedconnection between the first computing entity and the second computingentity on a pre-determined schedule; determining, whether to allowdelivery or pickup of an item based at least in part on the monitoringand the occurrence of the one or more triggering events; and based onallowing the delivery or pickup of the item, causing presentation, via auser interface, of a notification for display indicating that the itemis allowed to be delivered or picked up.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the credential information includes user profile informationthat includes one or more of: a username, a password, an image, a token,a challenge phrase, and a reminder.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe synchronization includes: causing an inquiry request to be sent toall customer computing entities found within a range of the firstcomputing entity, wherein the second computing entity is included in allcustomer computing entities; and causing synchronization with aplurality of customer computing entities that are within the range ofthe first computing entity, and wherein the second computing entity iswithin the range of the first computing entity.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the triggering events further include one or more of: anentity moving out of a geofenced area, the entity moving into thegeofenced area, a scan of the item at a pick-up or delivery location, adetermination that the item will be delivered within a configurable timeperiod, and a determination that the item is among a next configurablenumber of items to be delivered.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising storing a time and a location at which the first computingentity and the second computing entity established the connection. 6.The method of claim 1, receiving, via customer input at the secondcomputing entity, one or more configurable parameters, via theestablished connection, for one or more deliveries without humaninteraction during a predetermined time period, and for one or more ofgenerating a notification to a customer or carrier pick-up/deliveryindividual, automatically disallowing or allowing delivery or pick-up ofthe item, and confirming the item was picked-up or delivered.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the one or more configurable parameters areselected from a group consisting of a location, a day, and a time.
 8. Anapparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memoryincluding program code, the at least one memory and the program codeconfigured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:cause a connection to be established between a first computing entityand a second computing entity based on credential information, theestablished connection is at least partially responsible for allowingcommunication between the first computing entity and the second entity;determine that one or more triggering events have occurred, wherein theone or more triggering events comprises one or more of: (1) an entitymoving out of a geofenced area, (2) the entity moving into the geofencedarea, (3) a scan of the item at a pick-up or delivery location, (3) adetermination that the item will be delivered within a configurable timeperiod, and (4) a determination that the item is among a nextconfigurable number of items to be delivered; in response to thedetermining, monitor the established connection between the firstcomputing entity and the second computing entity on a pre-determinedschedule; determine whether to allow delivery or pickup of an item basedat least in part on the monitoring and the occurrence of the one or moretriggering events; and based on allowing or not allowing the delivery orpickup of the item, causing presentation, via a user interface, of anotification for display indicating that the item is allowed or notallowed to be delivered or picked up.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the credential information includes user profile informationthat includes one or more of: a username, a password, an image, a token,a challenge phrase, and a reminder.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the apparatus is further caused to: cause an inquiry request tobe sent to all customer computing entities found within a range of thefirst computing entity, wherein the second computing entity is includedin all customer computing entities; and cause synchronization with aplurality of customer computing entities that are within the range ofthe first computing entity, and wherein the second computing entity iswithin the range of the first computing entity.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the triggering events further include one or more of: adesignated carrier vehicle turning on or off, the designated carriervehicle beginning to move, and the designated carrier vehicle slowing toa stop.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is furthercaused to store a time and a location at which the first computingentity and the second computing entity established the connection. 13.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is further caused toreceive, via customer input at the second computing entity, one or moreconfigurable parameters, via the established connection, for one or moredeliveries without human interaction during a predetermined time period,and for one or more of generating a notification to a customer orcarrier pick-up/delivery individual, automatically disallowing orallowing delivery or pick-up of the item, and confirming the item waspicked-up or delivered;
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the oneor more configurable parameters are selected from a group consisting ofa location, a day, and a time.
 15. A computer program product comprisingat least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable program code portions stored therein, thecomputer-readable program code portions comprising: an executableportion configured to cause a connection to be established between afirst computing entity and a second computing entity, the establishedconnection is at least partially responsible for allowing communicationbetween the first computing entity and the second entity; an executableportion configured to monitor the established connection and determinethat one or more triggering events have occurred, wherein the one ormore triggering events comprises one or more of: (1) an entity movingout of a geofenced area, (2) the entity moving into the geofenced area,(3) a scan of the item at a pick-up or delivery location, (3) adetermination that the item will be delivered within a configurable timeperiod, (4) a determination that the item is among a next configurablenumber of items to be delivered, (5) a designated carrier vehicleturning on or off, (6) the designated carrier vehicle beginning to move,and (7) the designated carrier vehicle slowing to a stop; an executableportion configured to determine whether to allow delivery or pickup ofan item based at least in part on the monitoring and the occurrence ofthe one or more triggering events; and an executable portion configuredto cause presentation, via a user interface, of a notification fordisplay indicating that the item is allowed or not allowed to bedelivered or picked up based on allowing or not allowing the delivery orpickup of the item.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15,wherein the connection is established based on credential informationthat includes one or more of: a username, a password, an image, a token,a challenge phrase, and a reminder.
 17. The computer program product ofclaim 15, wherein computer-readable program code further comprising anexecutable portion configured to cause a synchronization of the firstcomputing entity and the second computing entity.
 18. The computerprogram product claim 17, wherein the computer-readable program codefurther comprising: an executable portion configured to cause an inquiryrequest to be sent to all customer computing entities found within arange of the first computing entity, wherein the second computing entityis included in all customer computing entities; and an executableportion configured to cause synchronization with a plurality of customercomputing entities that are within the range of the first computingentity, and wherein the second computing entity is within the range ofthe first computing entity.
 19. The computer program product of claim15, wherein the computer-readable program code further comprising anexecutable portion configured to store a time and a location at whichthe first computing entity and the second computing entity establishedthe connection.
 20. The computer program product of claim 15, whereinthe computer-readable program code further comprising an executableportion configured to receive, via customer input at the secondcomputing entity, one or more configurable parameters, via theestablished connection, for one or more deliveries without humaninteraction during a predetermined time period, and for one or more ofgenerating a notification to a customer or carrier pick-up/deliveryindividual, automatically disallowing or allowing delivery or pick-up ofthe item, and confirming the item was picked-up or delivered;